Daycare and Milk Storage: Heather's personal struggles

Today on the Milk Minute we're sharing all of Heather's struggles when it comes to storing milk at daycare and life with baby while also running a business. You read that right. The CNM, IBCLC, and founder of a breastfeeding business and podcast still struggles when it comes to lactation and life with a newborn. Both Maureen and Heather know the struggle of balancing work, life, and keeping their little ones fed and happy.

Let's face it, dropping your baby off with someone else can be tough. We're here to normalize those feelings of guilt or hopelessness and offer up some tips for making the daycare transition a little bit easier.

So whether you're a first-time mom or a seasoned pro, grab a cup of coffee (or let's be real, a glass of wine) and join us as we laugh, cry, and navigate this crazy journey called motherhood together. Because when it comes to breastfeeding, milk storage, and daycare dilemmas, we've got your back. Here's to embracing the chaos and finding beauty in the struggle, one Milk Minute at a time.

Work With Us!

• Book a Lactation Consult with Heather! Click HERE for the deets.
• Book a Lactation Consult with Maureen! Click HERE to get started.

THANKS TO OUR NEW PATRONS, Elizabeth Perry and Gianna from PA

THANK YOU TO THIS EPISODE’S SPONSORS

• Busy Moms Heathcare - Heather’s business has expanded to meet all of your needs! They are the women’s hub for lactation consults, women's health, primary care, and IV therapies. Call 304-212-5663 today for an appointment or visit BreastfeedingforBusyMoms.com
• Aeroflow – The easiest way to order your breast pump through your insurance. Click HERE to order today!
• Dairy Fairy - Click HERE and use Promo Code MILKMINUTE for free domestic shipping on any of our items
• Ceres Chill - Grab your Ceres Chiller or Milkstache HERE and enter promo code MILKMINUTE15 for 15% off!

Listener Question: I am looking for the best tricks and tips for relactation.

Mentioned in this episode:
Ep 109 - Formula Shortage and Relactation

Prefer to read the transcript? Click Here 

Transcript

Hey, welcome back to the Milk Minute. What are we doing today, Heather? Well, we are going to talk about daycare and milk storage and my personal struggles with it. Because I think that for, for me to share this with you, I hope makes you feel more normal if you're also having these struggles.

struggles because I literally have a lactation office right underneath the daycare where my baby goes and I'm having problems. So I just wanted to normalize this for everybody and share some of like the main issues that I'm having and some, some of the things that I've done to remedy that. And then also there's a couple that I'm just like, I don't know.

So that's kind of where I'm at right now. Awesome. I'm excited to talk about it as someone who's never actually used daycare. So I'm glad we have some personal experience to talk from now. And you know, quick reminder for everybody that we, of course, both do lactation consultation still both offer that online and in person.

So the links to book that are always going to be in our show notes. And they're easy to access. So if you're having trouble with something like Daycare, milk storage low supply, weaning, whatever, we're here for you. Hit us up. And if you are in Morgantown, West Virginia, or local to somewhere close to that, you can actually come get primary care, sick visits, problem visits, or GYN care from Busy Moms Healthcare, too, at my office.

So, lactation is still here, but we have expanded. That's so exciting. I'm so excited for you. Okay, growth is hard though, so keep it up. Growth is hard. I'm fine. Okay, let's thank some patrons before we get into this. All right. Well, this week I would like to thank two patrons Elizabeth Perry and Gianna from Pennsylvania.

Thank you guys so much for joining our Patreon. If y'all out there want to be part of the cool kids club and join our Patreon, it is Patreon. com slash milk minute podcast. You can also still get the entire everything of beyond the boob. It is still up there. It will forever be up there. So if you're pregnant and you're like.

I gotta listen to that. Become a 5 patron and you can. You can listen to the whole darn thing. Binge it. Binge it. Or listen to it week by week as you get more pregnant er. Anyway, on that very scientific pregnant er note, should we do our question here? Yes, please. Okay, this week's co question is from our Facebook group, from Jess.

Jess says, Hey, I am looking for the best tips and tricks for relactation. I found out today I'll be allowed to discontinue my blood thinner at 6 months postpartum, and I so badly want to provide breast milk for my baby again if I can. Is it even possible? Please send all the advice you have. TIA So we are going to put our re lactation episode in the show notes, and actually in the show notes of that episode is a whole bunch of resources on re lactation.

The short answer is, give it a go. Like, who knows? You're probably going to end up making some milk. I don't know if you'll be able to make, like, baby's full. Caloric requirement for the whole day, but there's probably a really good chance that you can make some breast milk. And if you approach it with understanding that it's very time consuming, in the beginning especially, and that results may vary, and you're still fine with that.

then it's going to be a positive experience. Yeah. And depending like how close you are to that six month mark, you know, now might be a really good time to start. A lot of people, you know, work on induced lactation or relactation. And, you know, it's very possible, especially if it hasn't really been that long since you last lactated.

But, you know, definitely check that episode out, check out some of the links there, cause there are a couple of different protocols you can follow and you should find the one that fits best for you. Absolutely. All right, well, let's take a quick break and when we get back, we're going to talk about all of my struggles managing my milk and pumping stuff with daycare.

Sounds great.

Heather, I had a rumor that your business is changing. It is. We are actually expanding exponentially. Well, tell me about it, because I think I'm ready to jump ship from my current primary care provider. Okay, so we still offer lactation, that is always going to be one of our main aspects of the business.

But now you can establish primary care here, we do sick visits, we do problem visits, GYN. Basically, if you're a woman and you have something going on that you need help with, we can help you. And that even includes some hormone replacement therapy. We're even going to be doing the bioidentical hormones.

We're going to do IV therapy. So if you have a hangover or if you have a migraine, we can do all of that in house, which is super exciting. And probably the most exciting part is that we're taking all of the insurances, including Medicaid. Have you welcomed new staff members to help you guys with this change?

Oh yes, we have. So we have Sarah Woods who is a family nurse practitioner and she is also certified in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. So she is a wonderful asset to the team. We are also looking at hiring a pelvic floor PT and we are kind of in the process of that a little bit right now, possibly, maybe.

And there's of course me. I'm going to be doing lactation and Some GYN stuff. Ah, returning to your full scope. Yes. I'm super excited about that. And then we still have Meredith who's going to be helping with lactation. So the three of us right now are going to be doing all of it. But as soon as we start getting full, we have people lined up, actually, who are trying to get a job here.

I just need a minute. So. If I wanted to transfer over for GYNO care or primary care, how would I do that? You would just call 304 212 5663, and that will be in our show notes, and you can schedule an appointment on the phone, or you can do it directly online at its still breastfeedingforbusymoms.com, and there's an online intake form that you can fill out.

I'm really excited to see what new adventures await you at Busy Moms Healthcare. Everybody head on down to 10, 000 Coombs Farm Road in Morgantown, West Virginia to check it out. Alright, everyone. Busy Moms Healthcare, where women always come first.

Hey, welcome back everybody. Heather, tell me your struggles, babe. Okay, number one struggle of all time is where is all of my shit? Oh, it's the worst. I just don't understand. Like, my office, like I said, is right below the daycare and it's a breastfeeding office. Also, like, literally full of pumps and pumping supplies.

Maybe that's why you have a problem. Because your brain is like, this is not urgent, I have extra parts, I'm fine. Right. And I also have, like, Julie here, who does dishes constantly. So the problem is, sometimes they get mixed in with my other IBCLCs pump parts. She uses a 19. I use a 24. I accidentally pumped with her 19s the other day, I just slapped them on and plugged them in and started a zoom call with a patient.

And like, I just slowly was like, ah, I was like, I'm gonna hold on one second. And I had to like, pause it. And I was like, I was like, Oh my God, I took them off. I had fully freaking bruised myself and it hurt for a week. I was like, you are a moron. What is wrong with you? What? Cause I'm like moving too fast all the time.

And so now here's what's happened. I've ended up. Because we have bins and bins of 24s that people have like donated, I end up digging through the bin of pump parts like a trash panda and using them when either all my stuff is dirty or I can't find it. And so then I end up with like six sets of pump parts.

Not sure what's mine. Not sure. And Julie's like, Heather, where? Is this yours? Is this re sanitizing? We're going back in the training bin. I'm like, girl, I don't know and I am so sorry. So yeah, it seems like I have four wet bags now because I keep forgetting a wet bag at home. Or I have like four backpacks, so I have like one for my laptop and then I have one for my phone.

One for the diaper bag, and then my husband needs a diaper bag, and they all just get, like, mix matched together. And so, my wet bags disappear. Like, crazy disappear. And I'm like, where is this thing? Which fridge is it in? Which car is it in? And so then I end up grabbing another wet bag from my store, putting my crap in it, and shove it in the fridge, so I don't have to do the dishes again, because I'm busy.

So, like, it's just this rotating hell of equipment that I just cannot seem to get a handle on. Plus I'm feeding Marty with a mam bottle. Okay. We are not sponsored by mam. Right. That's not what you started with, is it? No, it's not what I started with, but it is the only thing that she will take. Great. So I did not have an adapter for the mam to like pump directly into it with my Spectra, so I did this for weeks.

Just weeks where I'm pumping into Spectra bottles and then pouring it into the mam bottle, which is doubling my dishes. And so then I have the LV Stride, so I'm also not pumping directly into a mam there. So I bought the adapter finally, I cleaned out the entire cabinet of shit from when Marty was refusing bottles, and I ended up collecting a bunch of lids, nipples, and bases, and all kinds of stuff.

So I did that, I cleaned it all out, I put all the mams together, I got rid of the size 0 nipples, because they were They kept infiltrating my size ones, which is what she's using right now. So then. Also, I have the baby brew, not sponsored, which I use, but again, I didn't have the adapter to heat the milk up from the mam directly into it.

So, it's taken me this long, she's four and a half months old, it's taken me this long to get all the stuff I need, and To make my life easier and eliminate dishes to figure out where my stuff is. I'm still working on that. I'm still really struggling. So I'm open to tips and tricks. If you have any for me, the tip is probably going to be like, I don't know, have you tried slowing down and not overbooking yourself?

Heather, you tried organizing your shit, Heather. I, you know, well, first of all, will she take cold bottles? Cause she's old enough. She doesn't need them warm. Well so, this is another thing. According to the daycare, she likes her bottles hot. Like, hot hot. Like 104 degrees hot. No. Yes. Like, she prefers it that way.

She will not take that 98 degree swill. She's like, Warmer, please. I want, I just like, that's one thing where when baby's over like three months old, I'm like, all right, friends, we don't need hot bottles anymore. I mean, if it's the only way they'll take it, it is what it is. But like, if you can cut out warming up bottles, great.

Let's fucking do that. Okay. But also then my breast milk is pretty chunky. Like I've got lots of cholesterol and cream in there. Shake that shit up. Yeah. So, but even when I shake it up, sometimes it's still in there. Doesn't it plug up the holes for you? Yeah. I don't know. I Marty has a weak suck. I just worry she's not going to be able to suck it out.

Yeah. I even kept warming up Lara's bottles even when she was like a year and a half old. And I'd be like, what are you doing, dude? He said, she's my little baby. And I'm like, you're just, what are you doing? So, I don't know. But that is something you can consider if it's possible. Here's the thing that I see happening for you.

Your brain only runs in crisis mode. And so if things are not high stake, you don't do them. Mm hmm. And pump parts and pumping and all that is not high stakes for you, because you have 8, 000 possible backup systems at your office. So that's why you haven't organized anything, and that's why you actually never have it together, because your brain is like, It's fine.

If I don't do that, it won't fall apart. But it turns out it does anyway. So I, I kind of feel like you need to trick yourself into thinking that there are no extra pump parts at work and like operating as if there's no backup plan, because I think then you will actually clean your parts and pack them and check them and do that and make it part of your checklist.

I mean, I mean, I think like, you know, I had a system where I did have like two sets of pump parts, you know, and I would just like throw the dirty ones in the wet bag. Yeah. Yeah. Buy the sink, pick up my next one, and put them in my car for work. Because if they weren't in my car and I had to go to a berth, I was shit out of luck.

And I had a couple of different pumps. So I also had a lot of different systems, and I pretty much always had two pumps fully stocked in the car ready to go. It did require a little mania for that, you know? A little, a little panic. And it required my husband to wash a lot of pump parts. But it was definitely like something that after the first, I don't know, probably month back at work, like finally became routine to like, okay, I would like snap the wet bag onto this bag that has the medications I carry to work.

So I take it in and out of my car all the time. And, you know, it was just like became tacked on to a habit I already had. And that was really helpful. Mm hmm. Yeah, I'm gonna have to spend like, here's a sad thing. It's gonna take like 30 minutes for me to figure it out. I just have not done it. So yeah, and then also I'm laughing at myself as I tell my patients, replace your pump parts every three months.

And I'm like, which ones? I mean, who knows? I'm using donated parts at this point. Probably. I don't know. Guys, you're doing fine. Let me just tell you, you're doing fine. Well. Speaking of that, how's your supply? My supply is fine. I am a, I am a, maybe one ounce more than a Just Enough er. Oh, nice. We are like, you know, right, right.

Neck and neck with each other all the time on this. I had that oversupply early on, like just a slight oversupply. So I have a decent freezer stash still. I think I have like 250 ounces. Don't worry. Daycare. I'll just throw that down the drain. Oh yeah. Can we talk about that next? Yeah, let's do it. Okay. So here's my other issue is the timing and the volume of milk delivery to daycare.

Alright, so I have been sending one or two bottles with her, and then pumping during the day, and then running a bottle upstairs when they need it. Why? Why do you ask? Like, why are you doing this stupid thing, Heather? Because, in the beginning, when she was like real shitty with bottles, We were wasting a ton of milk because she wouldn't finish a bottle that I sent with her, and or I had no idea which bottle was fed last or what time it was warmed up.

So like I'd, I'd pick her up and there would be three bottles. With like, it started with varying amounts in them, and they all have like, varying amounts left, and I'm like, I have no idea how much she actually ate, or if, if this one that has three ounces left in it, could I, how old is this? You know? So I'm like, great.

Now I'm smelling it, I'm trying to figure it out. So I was like sending varying amounts because I didn't know how much she was actually taking. So I'd send like a 4 2 ounce snack bottle, and I'd be like, I don't know, if you think she's really hungry, give her the big one. If you think she's just like mildly hungry, give her the snack.

I don't know if that was happening, but either way, I was throwing out like 3 to 4 ounces of milk every day. When, yeah, and it was breaking my heart. mom heart. So then I tried just putting like two ounces in a bottle and telling them, let me know when she's hungry. And then they would text me and they'd be like, she's starving like an hour later.

And I'd be like, okay. So she would like house the two ounces and they'd be like, it's an emergency. So then I'm running upstairs with a bottle. And so it was maddening. I just like, could not find an equilibrium with this. I eventually sat down and I talked with them and I was like, okay. Walk me through what is happening with her, because I don't know what to give you, or what's going to be helpful for you.

What is her behavior like? How long is it taking her to finish these bottles? And this is when they told me, oh, it takes her a good 30 to 40 minutes to finish a 3 ounce bottle. And I was like, what? So, that was helpful to know. And they were like, so that's why. You know, all the milk is like not good by the time we give it back to you.

And I said, okay, so we moved her up to a size one and that was much better because baby girl just does not have a great suck. Like she's still working on it, but a size one was turns out perfect for her. So I think we are now in a good spot. I've three and a half ounces seems to be the. The honey spot for her.

I'm wasting maybe like half an ounce a day, sometimes none. Much better. Much better. And then also I asked them to please write on the label what time they warmed each bottle up. So that was really helpful. And I've been labeling her bottles with how much was in there to start with. Good idea. So that way I know how much she's actually eaten.

You know! It should not be this hard, especially that daycare, I imagine, has a higher percentage of breastfed babies than other ones, because it's like the bougie daycare. You know, and that's kind of how breastfeeding is in Morgantown. Yeah, pretty much, pretty much. So they're happy to do it, but then there's been a few times where, so like the timing issue right now is Marty does not seem to have A routine.

She's not like a, like a eat, sleep, play or whatever, play, whatever the hell you're supposed to do. It's more like, Oh, Marty was starved. She just ate seven ounces in three hours. And I'm like, what? And, and she's really spitty uppie. And I'm like, well, I bet. Wow. You think those are related? But then, but then other days she'll go like four hours without eating and then just eat like a three ounce and waste the rest like she's still very unpredictable.

I do not know why. I don't know what's going on up there. So it's a bit of a trust fall still with daycare and She's at a healthy weight. She seems to be growing. She's happy. So I'm kind of deciding not to give a shit anymore. Okay, that's healthy. Let's do it. Alright, so that's, that's where I'm at with that.

But I want you to know that it was hard for me to figure out. And I had to, and I felt guilty asking the daycare providers like, Hey, I know you're so busy. Would you mind writing the time? No, you don't need to feel guilty. It's their job. Yeah, I mean, honestly, I hit a point with, like, Ivan doing childcare as well, where I was like, I can't know what you feed her anymore.

But it was easier because he had the stash to draw from, so I didn't need to know if he took more than I left, you know? But yeah, there's a point where you just have to be like, I can’t control it, and I also don't need to know certain aspects of it now, because all they do is make you nervous.

Yeah, and then you see like one change in your baby where you're like, She ate 15 ounces today? What the heck? Is, is it all going down? Is this the new pattern? And then the next day she eats 11 and you're like, God damn it. Just don't tell me, you know, just don't tell me. So anyway, that's that, but let's take a quick break before I get on to my next rant about rotating my freezer stash.

Okay, sounds good.

Let's take a quick break to thank our sponsor, Aeroflow. Aeroflow is your one stop shop to get the most popular breast pumps and accessories through your insurance. Yeah, so don't let your insurance go to waste. Why don't you let Aeroflow do all the dirty work for you? You never have to call your insurance when you use Aeroflow.

And they remind you when you're eligible for free replacement parts. Yep, so when you're tired in your postpartum period and you're wondering why your pump isn't working as well, you might get a text that says, Did you know you need replacement parts? And you say, I did not know that. You push a button and boom, they show up at your door.

Aeroflow. com Thanks, Aeroflow. Thank you so much. Go ahead and check out the link to Aeroflow in our show notes and order your pump through them.

Heather, have I told you about my new favorite place to get nursing bras? Ooh, tell me. It's called the Dairy Fairy. The Dairy Fairy offers bras and tanks that try to solve the challenges that come with nursing and pumping. Their ingenious intimates are beautiful, supportive, and can be worn all day long.

Oh, you're allowed to look good and feel good about yourself while wearing a nursing bra? Absolutely, and they offer sizes 52G. Oh! Amazing. I'm so glad a company has finally realized that a D cup is not a large. Absolutely, and it's so affirming to feel included in sizing and not feel like I'm asking for too much that clothing fits my body.

Well, what else do we get? Well, if you guys follow the link in our show notes, you can use the code MILKMINUTE at checkout for free shipping on all domestic orders. Thank you so much, Dairy Fairy. Absolutely. Once again, that's the link in our show notes and use the code milk minute for free shipping on all domestic orders.

All right, welcome back. Tell me, how are you rotating your freezer stash, Heather? Alright, so, I'm trying to remember to rotate my freezer stash, number one. This should not be this hard, because it should be math, right? It should be like, you take one out, and then you put one back in. But it's like, Not that, for me, for some reason.

So, I'm trying to remember to pull one bag out on Sunday night from the oldest portion of my freezer stash to send with Marty Monday morning. However, it never really seems to work out that I have an extra bag to put away on Friday. So, something seems to, like, not be working throughout the week. At some point, Either I drop a pump, or she eats extra milk, or it gets wasted, like a little bit at a time, like the half ounce a day or something gets wasted.

Yeah. You know what though? Like, in so little time, she's gonna be eating solids. Yeah. And we're gonna have new problems to worry about. And I, how much is left in your stash? I think like 250 ounces. So we're fine. If you're using one extra bag a week, that's gonna last you the rest of the year. Okay, yeah, that's what I kind of figured, but it was driving me nuts as a person that likes things to kind of like line up where you're like, why is this?

What's your job to do this for people, right? To be like, let's make sure what you're pumping matches what your baby eats and your baby's eating enough. And so in your own life, when there are mystery milk bags just disappearing down the gutter, you're like, what? Well, and also then I have this paranoia that I'm like, am I chronically undersupplying?

Like if I, if I take just a little bit less each week in the next six months, am I going to have nothing? Obviously, I know this, but this is where my stupid brain goes. I'm reminding you now. And the most likely scenario is that Marty is getting slightly overfed at daycare or they're wasting, you know, half an ounce to an ounce per day, which by the end of the week is a bag of milk.

Okay. And even if every day you were under supplying by a quarter ounce, you'll be fine. Yeah, and I guess I was thinking about myself when I had the other two where I didn't have a big freezer stash, so it was weird when I was like, I was always only one bottle ahead before, you know, so for me, by Friday, I'd be like, Oh, shit, like, I don't have milk for Monday, so I'd have to spend the weekend like pumping a little bit extra and I'd get it and then I'd be like, Okay, like, I pulled together three and a half ounces, like no big deal, but it was still annoying, so I'm, I'm happy that I don't have to do that over the weekend so I could sit here with you and podcast, but anyway, people just know out there that I still can't make the math, math for my pumped milk.

It's so weird, and I'm with you on that. And, you know, you always just have to ask yourself the question, does it have to make perfect sense? Does it have to? Does it have to? No, I guess not. And keep in mind, we're not really meant to pump. It's not supposed to be this hard. You know, it's great that we can, and it's great that we're creating these new tools to use for breastfeeding, but also, bodies and brains were not really meant to have to figure out what to do with our body fluids once they were outside of our body.

Yeah. It's, it's okay. We're doing the best we can. We are. Okay, now this one I need your help with. This is the last one I want to complain about. Okay. Because I can't figure this one out. Okay. So, thawing milk on the fly. Okay, so there have been a few times where I would like to try to use my cubes of milk from the series Chill Milk Stash, which I love.

However, I seem to always be in a rush when I'm trying to use the cubes because it's like a time where you're like, oh, I just need a little bit. Like before I can get to a place to feed her directly from the breast or I can't really think of a good scenario right now or like I'm on my way home from Target, but I'm running late and I'm I have full boobs.

I want to feed her when I get home. But my husband's like, she's hungry. And I'm like, don't thaw the whole thing Thaw a couple cubes. So the problem is I'm putting these cubes in the mam, and I'm putting that in a bowl of warm water. But the bowl of warm water will actually get into the bottom screw part of the mam, and then you go to feed it to her, and the water kind of drips out and it gets everywhere.

It's really annoying, even no matter how tight you screw it on, or you put the cubes in and put it in a bottle warmer, but the mam is so thick that the cubes won't thaw. So what I've ended up doing is putting them in breast milk bags and thawing them in the bags, which completely defeats the purpose.

Kind of, yeah. So I what I end up doing with the cubes, those would often be my overnight thaw, right? Because they were just kind of a pain in the butt because they're thick. Or I would put them in my stainless steel bottles. Because those heat up really fast, and they're really thin, you know? Yeah. And I could thaw those in the sink that way.

Just like running hot water over them. Yeah, because I had, I used the parent's choice ones, which had glass, plastic, and stainless steel. Which, otherwise, I didn't love the stainless steel, but for thawing milk, it was like so fast. Well, and I guess the series chill does have the stainless steel internal chamber, that I could technically just throw them in there.

Yeah, you could use that for thawing. Mm hmm. Okay, and also, you know, it's kind of cool, now that you say that, once she's drinking out of an open cup and she's practicing that, we could put a cube in the open cup, stainless steel cup, thaw it, and then she could try to drink it out of that. And that way, we're not thawing a whole bag.

Yeah, like I also thawed some in the silicone bag sometimes too, because those are just reusable, you know. But really, I think the most of the time I use them is when I was like anticipating using it in a couple hours and I would just throw them in and be like, whatever, it'll be thawed by the time we use it and not worry about it.

Or like prepping milk for the next day. Yeah. Maybe that will be my Sunday night milk. Yeah. Okay. I like this Maureen. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I think what I ended up doing is I would fill the milk stash when I only pumped like, a half an ounce into my haka or something, you know, and it wasn't worth using a full bag, but then I would use it just for whatever.

It didn't have to be only if I needed like one or two cubes. So, right. Yeah. Lots of possibilities. I'm sure you could also ask Lisa what she recommends too. Yeah. I really think that like the most annoying thing about all of this, In general, if I'm allowed to complain. Of course you are. This is, we have an entire podcast for complaining, Heather.

If boys can do it, we can. I'm just like really annoyed that by the time I figure this all out and finally find a rhythm, Marty is going to be starting solids. Yes, in like a month and a half or whatever. Yeah. She's going to be like, right now it's time for solids. So glad you have your pumping and bottle routine down.

For real. And like, this is the joke of parenting. You know what? Actually with daycare for a lot of people, solids make it easier because it gives. them some another way to be happy and entertained at daycare by playing with food, you know, which is a lot of the reason babies end up overeating bottles at daycare is they just aren't entertained enough because their caregivers are super busy, which is understandable, right?

So like, oh, they're fussy. Let me give her another bottle quick. Versus if we're taking an hour out of the day at daycare to try and figure out applesauce. You know, or whatever it is. We all often see less milk wasted. Yeah, that's a good point. And actually, Marty has started the step one of solids at four months, which is the early allergen introduction.

So she, this, I also fucked up. So listen to what I did and then don't do what I did. I got really excited one night and I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna, I forgot. She's like four and a half months. Like we can do early allergens. So I. Got her little rubber spoon, and I put a little bit of peanut butter on it, and I handed it to her, and she got it in her mouth, and she loved it, and I have a little video of it that I'll put on our Patreon.

So she's sucking on it, sucking on it, and I was like, alright, time for bed! And then I was like, oh shit, what if she has a reaction? Now I have to keep her up! So here's my hot tip, do it in the morning. Yes. Do it in the morning so you don't have to worry while she's laying in her bed at 11 o'clock at night that she's having a reaction that you can't see in the dark.

That was a dumb move on my part. I really loved with Griffin when he was about five months. I started giving him stuff to taste like that, and it made cooking so much easier because I would put his highchair right next to where I was cooking. And every like spoon that I used to mix something that he could, you know, taste, I would just throw it on his highchair and he would spend like a half an hour trying to get it anywhere near his mouth, you know, so easy.

And then he would get like one lick and be very happy. And it's just the whole cooking dinner. Everything was spent that way. It was great. Totally. And we all went out to lunch the other day to Mario's Fishbowl. Shout out. One of the oldest bars in Morgantown. And they have the best wings. And so of course we get the boat of celery and carrots.

And I was like, oh, she can have this. So she was starting to get fussy. And of course. Of course, because I was eating, so she has to be, like, fussy the minute I get food in my mouth. So I hand her the celery, and she loved it, but she loved the carrot more. And it was really cool to watch her try to figure out that solids do go to the side of the mouth, and it was great.

No, I noticed that with Griffin, too. I feel like Lyra just got this stuff really quickly, but Griffin, like, took a minute. To be like, do I gag myself with a carrot or do I chew it, you know? And I remember just watching him put it like straight in his mouth and suck and then be like, wait, to the side. To the side.

And you're like, you got it! And then she'd get her finger a little too close and then she'd start sucking on her finger with the celery in the side of her mouth and she'd look really confused. Oh my god, Heather. Recently, for whatever reason. So, Lyra's just been really aggressive lately, you know, because that's how our girls are.

And she's been, like, very aggressively eating, so she keeps accidentally biting her finger. Oh, no. And then she'll be like, I bit my finger. Oh. Like, I don't know what to tell you, girl. Poor thing. Yes, you did that to yourself. Yeah, Heidi's a, Heidi's very orally fixated. I mean, she still sucks her thumb at five years old, and she's, like, if you get your hand anywhere near her mouth, she will either bite you or lick you, a hundred percent.

I have to upload this video to Patreon. Of Lyra, I gave her a plate of shredded cheese. You know, noodle cheese, because I was trying to cook or something. And she just like lowered her head and both hands was just shoveling straight into her mouth. I'm watching TV the other day and I feel like a little something.

And I look down and Heidi's just licking my elbow. Just licking it. And I said, what are you doing? And she goes, nothing. I was like, weird. Why are kids so weird? No, I don't know what they are. Griffin does shit like that all the time. Where I'm like, dude, Yeah. Explain to me what happened between when you were sitting there doing nothing and when you leaned over to lick my leg.

Yeah. Tell me. Help me understand. And they're like, I don't know. And I believe them. I truly believe they don't know why they did it. I, I, but he's eight now, so I'm like. Theo still does that and he's ten. Yeah, I mean, I probably shouldn't say this because then he can't run for president someday. But he goes, Mom.

He said, Mommy. We're having the body changes talk at school on March 9th, and I was like, oh, that's great. I said, you already kind of like know about the body changes, right? And he goes, well, I know about the body hair and I know about the stinky smells and the hormones. And then he kind of paused and I said, what else do you know about?

And he goes, Nothing. And I said, come on, tell me, what do you know? And he goes, no, for real, if you read my mind, there'd be nothing in there. And I said, well, I kind of believe you, but also I don't. So like, tell me what? And he goes, fine. I did talk to daddy about Morning Wood. And I said, oh, has that been happening for you?

And he goes, yeah. And I went, that's great. And he goes, fine. Why is that great? And I said, oh, it just means you're healthy. And he goes, oh, okay. And then he goes, well then he thought like, since it's cool to talk about it with mom, he's gonna share this extra story with me. He said, yeah, the other night at daddy's house at 10 30 at night, I just yelled, night What?

throughout the house. That was pretty funny. And I said, buddy Nightwood is not a thing. And he goes, oh yes it is . You know, I thought, I'm so glad that he feels comfortable. Doing that and saying that and that's like good. He's good. It is really good I just he's such a ten year old boy I mean to have a four month old and a ten year old boy is such a trip you guys Yeah, I've had to have a couple puberty talks with Griffin already cuz you know, it's it begins And he's just like aware of that as something that's looming on the horizon, because like a number of his friends are like 10 and 12, you know, and he's noticing that their bodies are changing and like their attitudes are changing and like, It's like, wow, why is she so moody?

And I'm like, well, your friend is 12, so let's talk about it. And here's why you should be extra nice to her and give her a chocolate from the candy store next time you see her. Or just stay away from her. I don't know. Oh, that's funny. Yeah. Anyway, these kids are all changing so fast, I feel like my hair is blowing back, so We'll blink and Marty will be doing solids full time and, and, I don't know, and we'll still be podcasting.

It'll be 12 years in.

If you're pumping milk away from your baby at all, at work, or wherever you go, you deserve a Bougie product to make that easier for you. You deserve a Ceres Chiller, and frankly, I could not live without one right now. The Ceres Chiller is an excellent way to store your breast milk safely, and it keeps your breast milk cold for 24 hours.

It is the only thing I use to transport my breast milk to and from work. While I'm working, it's got a sleek and beautiful design. Lots of great colors, high quality materials, and manufacturing. Series Chill also has other products that you might want to check out too. My personal favorite is the Milk Stash.

They have a great nipple shield that actually changes colors and it's not clear like all the other ones. And you know how we feel about that. If you want to have your very own Series Chiller, please go to the link in our show notes and use code MILKSTASH. Minute 15 at checkout, that's Milk Minute 15 for 15% off your series Chill products.

Enjoy.

On that note of what we're doing in the future with the podcast we do have kind of a big announcement. So I know we've mentioned a few times, Heather and I have talked about we've been struggling a little bit to keep up with content and because our businesses have been growing so much and our personal lives are complex.

And so I think we've come to the very difficult decision, but what I'm excited about is that we are going to start splitting up the Milk Minute into two seasons a year. Right now, they're going to have 15 episodes per season. We're going to see how that does for us. So this is going to be season one for 2024.

We're going to take a little break, come back season two. take a little break, etc. And I, I think this is actually going to give us more time to help you, more time to make better episodes, to feel excited about the content we're making, and to really also take all the content we have and make it into resources that are usable in more formats for you.

Yeah. So like making episodes and making PDFs and making website pages and things like that. So you can be like, ah, that episode, I don't have to re listen because here's the thing that they made. Exactly. I mean, I was joking with Maureen that at this rate, Our podcast list of episodes is going to start looking like a karaoke song binder, where it's just like, I don't know, like, we're just making so much content.

And I feel like we're not able to deliver it to its fullest extent and use it to its fullest extent. Like, we're not even hardly promoting any of these. We're just like doing it. We've just been cranking them out. I'm actually really excited about that because I think it's going to give us an opportunity to use what we've created better.

And deliver it to more people and also create a slightly higher quality when we're less rushed. Yeah, or not. It might just be the same old shit we've been putting out. Might just be the same shit, y'all. Sorry. No, I'm kidding. We'll see. No, really, I have no idea. Our, the challenge we have is when we started this, We also both had baby businesses where we were like, we're just beginning.

Here's my LLC, you know, and now we're like, Oh shit, our businesses are running away from us tops. You know, we're just trying to catch up. Yeah. And I think that's been the most challenging aspect of this, but we want to keep creating this for you. We think we have made an incredible resource. We want it to stay available, stay up to date, and we want to keep helping people through our personal businesses, too.

Right. We just want it to not burn out, also. You know, that's never fun. And we want to keep the energy and the spirit of the business alive. You know, I also personally want to be able to have time and room to grow. Like, I feel like every spare moment is spent on something right now where I'm like, Oh, the list of continuing education and certifications that I want to do is very long.

Like I would actually like to sit for the IBCLC sometime so I can pass that test. That's not, that's not the hard part. Finding the time to do the application and everything is the hard part for me. So it's like. I need to find the time to do that. I need to find the time, you know, to like, figure out like, am I hiring doulas as private contractors?

Like, I don't know. Lots of things. Yeah, how do I feel about all these things? Yeah, I know. We just need some time and space. And also, I would like to be able to start taking the advice that I give my patients all the time about taking care of themselves. Because I'm not. Like, full disclosure, I'm just absolutely not taking care of myself right now.

I am finding it hard to do the 24 Kegels a day that I'm supposed to be doing for pelvic floor PT. Like 24, you know, like five at a time. I should be able to knock this out and I can't. There's something wrong with me if I can't do 24 Kegels in a day. So yeah, we're going to take our own advice and we're going to split it up.

We're going to deliver to you in a better way. And also it's going to give us some time to hopefully get some more cool guests on the show. Yeah, and maybe be able to up the perks that we offer in Patreon a little bit too, like, really opens a lot of pathways to us, and I, I don't want us to fall into a trap of monotony because we created something Mm hmm.

You know, three, four years ago, like we can change anytime we want. So let's fucking do it. And so can you, is it time for a change? Check in with yourself. We support that. We do. So let us know what you guys think, as always send us emails, send us messages, you know, and if you have any good ideas. You know, this season we pretty much have mapped out, but if you have anything you'd like to see next season let us know.

Maybe we can make it happen. Absolutely. All right. Well, thank you all. Let's do an award in the alcove before we get out of here. Okay. So this award goes to one of our patrons, Carrie H. Carrie says, did my first bedtime away from my baby. He's 12 months, but we both love that bedtime nursing session. Dad and dude did amazing.

And we did a record length overnight session just because I missed him. Oh, that's so sweet. And what a relief. Yeah. Huh. What a relief. It's so, those things that you really, the anticipatory dread is so much worse than the actual event. It's bad. Agreed. I think we're going to give you the outstanding overnight award, Carrie.

That was amazing. It was also brave. Like those things take so much, so much effort to do. And when you're done, you're like, wow, why was I scared of that? So incredible. Good work. We're very proud of you. Yes, we are. Well, thank you all for hanging with us and for listening to another episode of the Milk Minute Podcast.

The way we change this system that really doesn't support us at all is by educating ourselves and our friends and our family and our healthcare providers and everybody we meet on the street. Great. And if you found value in the episode that we produced for you today, you can show us some support by going to our Patreon at Patreon.

com slash Milk Minute Podcast and choosing a tier of a subscription level that you're comfortable with that works for you so you can see what we have going on behind the scenes of the Milk Minute Podcast. All right, everybody. Thank you for listening, and we will see you soon. All right. Bye. It's a miracle!